Some readers were shocked and angered by a Friday editorial page cartoon depicting a black man with a smoking gun in his hand standing over a bullet-riddled victim. “I didn’t see nuttin’!” said a little girl standing nearby. “Now that’s a good little ho!” said the gunman. Both the shooter and the child wore T-shirts saying “Don’t Snitch!”The cartoon carried a caption: “The new rule of Law!” A billboard in the background depicted more black characters under lyrics, “Rap your life away.”

Expressions of outrage came quickly, including from the local president of the NAACP. “Highly offensive and racist,” is how Charles Anderson described the cartoon. It was wrong to suggest that the growing “Don’t snitch” phenomenon is limited to the African-American community and use of the terms “ho” and “nuttin’ ” were over the top, according to Anderson.

The cartoon came after police assertions that a “Don’t snitch” culture has impeded efforts to solve crimes in Jacksonville. A CBS 60 Minutes segment last Sunday focused on the growing problem, especially in inner-city neighborhoods, and how some rap artists have encouraged it.

“The object of the cartoon was to comment on the rise of a no-snitching culture, something that is widely in the news today,” Clark said.

Gamble conceded that the term “ho” is demeaning to women, but added, “I was making a point that rappers are demeaning to women.”